Skeletal fractures are common injuries. These fractures are typically debilitating and often require the patient to undergo surgery. Depending on the severity of the fracture, the orthopedic surgeon has several options for treatment, ranging from simple fracture reducing implants to complete prosthetic replacements. However, even when the treatment of the fracture does not call for a complicated procedure such as complete replacement, the proper setting of a fractured bone can still pose substantial challenges to even the most skilled orthopedic surgeon.
The difficulties that a surgeon has to deal with when reducing a fracture are well-known. These difficulties include dealing with the shape and positioning of the bones or bone fragments when aligning the fracture and the accompanying complications regarding the proper placement of an orthopedic implant for supporting and holding the fracture in proper alignment until it heals. This latter problem of implant alignment still remains as one of the challenges facing an orthopedic surgeon in fracture surgery.
For example, fractures which occur in the femur, and especially in the femoral neck and intertrochanteric regions, have traditionally been treated by inserting a nail, such as an intramedullary nail, along the longitudinal axis of the femur and by inserting a second fixation implant, such as a locking implant, from the side of the femur, through the femoral neck, via the intramedullary nail, and into the femoral head. The fixation implant may then be locked to the intramedullary nail and they cooperate to align and compress the bone fragments. However, in order for the fixation implant to be properly implanted in the femoral head, the implant must be aligned prior to insertion through the femur. This is the challenge orthopedic surgeons face with during fracture surgery.
A variety of alignment systems have been developed to facilitate orthopedic implant placement in bone fracture surgery. The use of such alignment systems have substantially assisted orthopedic surgeons in aligning and implanting fixation implants to insure the proper healing of the fracture. However, the previous alignment systems have not been able to accurately predict insertion depth and translational distance and, more importantly, have not been able to accurately predict rotational distance and orientation. Accordingly, there exists a need for improved fixation implant systems.